Faith No More Discuss New ‘Sol Invictus’ Album

Courtesy of Margaret Banda via rollingstone.com

It’s been eighteen years since Faith No More released their last album. On May 19th, the band will return with the release of Sol Invictus. The album will feature ten songs, all produced by bassist Billy Gould. Faith No More said their 2011 performance in Buenos Aires was the spark that started the idea for their new album. “When we debuted our new song ‘Matador,’ we just told them it was a cover song, and they still went crazy,” Gould said in a statement. The band’s keyboardist, Roddy Bottum, said the song “Matador” was the first record Gould presented to the band, and it gave the band a sense of new beginnings.

Bill Gould said Siouxsie and the Banshees and Roxy Music were huge influences for the band in their early stages, and Sol Invictus is a reflection of Faith No More’s first album. “Hypnotic and gothic, we’re coming back to where we were with our first album. Then Patton’s being Patton, crooning, screaming, with a bit of soul underneath it all,” Gould said. He added, “We’ve always taken strange influences and smashed them together.” Faith No More dropped the song “Motherf***er” last November, the band’s first release in years. On the day of the song release, the band surprised fans with an impromptu concert in San Francisco, in which they performed “Motherf***er” and a new song entitled “Superhero.”

Bill Gould said that when the Faith No More band members broke up, it allowed them to explore what each individual could do on their own. Gould believes that separation gave them a better perspective, and made Faith No More a much stronger unit. “When we split up, we explored what we could do on our own. During that time, we each developed what was a natural part of ourselves,” Gould explained. The bassist continued, “Now, coming back, we have a wider perspective so we can do things we didn’t even think of back in the day. If we were to decide to do country western music, it would still sound like a Faith No More album.” He concluded, “Together we have a strong collective identity, and when we work together it makes its own animal.” Faith No More will embark on a North American tour on April 15th in Vancouver, and the tour will conclude in Philadelphia on May 15th. The band assured their fans more dates will be added to the US tour this year.

Brillion Williams is an avid entertainment writer, particularly in the realm of music, sports, television, and film. Williams first started writing professionally as the founder and editor of Brillion-A-Million.